Thin film dressings for medical applications are well known in the art. Thin flexible film dressings have found applications as wound dressings, incise drapes and catheter dressings. One of the first of these thin film dressings is the dressing sold under the name Opsite by Smith and Nephew. The dressings generally have a thin polymeric film with an adhesive coating. These dressings are applied to the patient by removing a protector from the adhesive coating and adhering the dressing to the skin at the appropriate site. These thin film dressings have achieved popularity in part because the dressings are capable of readily conforming to the shape of the skin thus rendering them more comfortable for the patient to wear than has been the case in the past with other types of dressings.
One of the problems frequently encountered in the use of thin film dressings has been their sensitivity to puckering and creasing. One approach to solve the problem of puckering and creasing has been to provide a pair of non-adhesive handles at opposed edges of the adhesive dressing to facilitate the removal of the adhesive protector while the dressing is applied to the skin.
A more significant problem with thin film dressings of the prior art is encountered where these dressings are applied over wounds that produce significant quantities of exudate. Due to the occlusive nature of the thin film dressings, it is difficult to take up and absorb the exudate that has been produced by the wound in the healing process. As a result, there is a tendency for the exudate to build up under the dressing and delay and exacerbate proper wound healing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thin film dressing that provides superior exudate uptake and absorption but retains the comfort of thin film dressings.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a thin film dressing that retains the flexibility of a thin film dressing yet permits the wound to expeditiously heal where there is heavy exudation of wound fluid.